By law, all new car models must pass certain safety tests and certifying procedures in different countries or regions, such as side impact tests, for example pole side impact tests, before they are sold.
Several reinforcement structures for vehicles having improved side impact crash behavior have been disclosed in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,297 discloses a structure of a side portion of a vehicle body having a side outer panel in which a side sill outer member and a pillar outer member are integrally formed. A first enclosed cross-sectional member is formed by a connecting of a side sill inner member and a side sill reinforcing member. A second enclosed cross-sectional member is formed by connecting the side sill outer member and the side sill reinforcing member.